A Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) is a CableLabs-led effort that brings technical and operational unity to two projects: The Converged Multiservice Access Platform (CMAP), headed up by Comcast Corp, and Converged Edge Services Access Router (CESAR), headed up by Time Warner Cable Inc.
A virtual Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP) is software that performs the functions of a hardware-based CCAP. The virtual CCAP may execute on hardware components that include a commercial off-the-shelf switch/router and one or more off-the-shelf computing servers. A commercial example of a virtual CCAP is CableOS, available from Harmonic, Inc. of San Jose, Calif.
Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is a telecommunications standard used to provide Internet access via a cable modem. DOCSIS version 3.0 introduced the concept of a “bonding group.” A single data stream for a cable modem (CM) may be sent on a single bonding group (BG) over two or more channels. On the other hand, a single channel may be shared by two or more BGs. Consequently, it is complicated to perform packet scheduling while observing Quality of Service (QOS) obligations given the loose correlation between BGs and RF channels.